E.F.: Believe it or not, I saved a press release from last year (and remembered where it was) from the University of Bridgeport announcing the makeover of its Marina Dining Hall.

L.S.: My college dining hall in New Jersey was Winan Hall. Considering the food, I always felt poor Mr. Winan would have rather been associated with the library or the gym.

E.F.: Well, this summer, even more renovations were done, so we thought we'd try it out for lunch.

L.S.: And I was expecting the same sad steam tables and grim decor.

E.F.: Jennifer Currier, general manager of Sodexo Campus Services at UB, gave us the tour, pointing out the various serving stations, improvements and, of course, the spectacular view of Long Island Sound that students can see from their tables. I must say the high-ceilinged room with a bank of windows was appealing -- light, bright and airy. The response to the changes from students and faculty have been "nothing but positive," she said.

L.S.: I was trying to place the name Sodexo, and then I remembered the cafeteria of a fancy office park I used to work at over in Wilton. That was a great place, just like this one.

E.F.: There were stations where servers prepared salads for guests, dished up comfort food and passed out such staples as pizza, burgers and fries.

L.S.: And despite all the options, I noticed a lot of students choose the starchier choices, like potatoes and pizza.

E.F.: Vegetarians seemed to have a good variety of choices and not just at the salad bar. There were special entrees, multiple rice cookers working and a pasta bar. There seems to be an emphasis on eating good, fresh food. Around the hall were sample dinner plates teaching students what a healthy plate of food should look like. And, like many contemporary eateries do, Currier said they try to buy as much local produce as possible. With a staff of 50 employees, most everything is made on site. Waiting for food can cause lines, but Currier said students don't seem to mind if they see the food freshly prepared in front of them.

L.S.: Get this: We work downtown, and these kids have food options we don't enjoy within walking distance of our offices, especially since both Mexican restaurants closed. The salad bar there is probably the best around for a couple of miles.

E.F.: You're not a vegetarian by any stretch, but you seemed to spend the most time at the salad bar.

L.S.: We both did, but partly because it wasn't very intuitive. A professor-type was kind enough to show us the ropes. You're served salad ingredients by pointing to choices behind glass, but the saute station is self serve.

E.F.: That's an area with two electric burners, a stack of frying pans and a big cruet of cooking oil. You grab a pan and stir-fry the ingredients served at the salad bar.

L.S.: Isn't that strange? You can't put lettuce on your own plate, but you're allowed to cook with hot oil in a frying pan. When there's smoke coming from the salad bar, it's easy to figure out what happened.

E.F.: You seemed nervous when I was cooking my lunch. I was nervous. I could see the headline: "Grandmother sets college dining hall on fire."

L.S.: Or worse: "Students notice local food editor is flummoxed by saute pan."

E.F.: According to the university, 25 percent of the student body comes from overseas and they work hard to offer a variety of cuisines. Asian dishes in the main dining hall and in the smaller food court, the Hub, seem popular. One station at the Hub was based on a California restaurant, Ginger Star, where you had the Thai barbecue chicken with yellow curry and I had a sesame chicken salad. I also had to try its self-serve milkshake station, which Currier said was a big hit with students. I forget how many hundreds she said they sold of those things, but I could feel those "Freshman-15" pounds packing on.

L.S.: The food was good, too, although the "dinner music" obviously caters to a demographic slightly younger than ours. The Hub is another example of how college kids are eating better than office workers who venture downtown.

E.F.: But you don't have to go to Fairfield. Marina Dining Hall, 374 Linden Ave., Bridgeport, is open seven days a week and the public is invited to join the students, cash and credit cards accepted. The all-you-can-eat breakfast (7:30 to 9:30 a.m.), lunch (11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.) and dinner (5 to 7 p.m.) are $7.75, $10.75 and $11.50, respectively. My advice for lunch: get there before noon to avoid a long line.